After failed negotiations, the Eureka City Schools District and the Eureka Teachers Association look to meet in early March with a mediator, according to district Superintendent Fred Van Vleck.

"We are at an impasse with the teachers and have been for about the last year," Van Vleck said. "The last negotiation was on Feb. 11 and we have been unable to come to an agreement."

Association President Patrick Riggs said they had declared an impasse in December but decided to meet with the district in hopes of reaching an agreement.

"Our bargaining team felt that the district's bargaining team was interested in reaching an agreement," Riggs said. "During the negotiations, five proposals were exchanged between both sides and when the district's team came back from conferring -- presumably with the superintendent -- they rejected our proposal."

The district's current proposal to the teachers is a two-year agreement with the following terms: a 3 percent ongoing increase to the 2013-14 salary schedule plus an additional one-time 3 percent salary increase for the 2014-15 schedule and a $40 health benefit cap, according to Van Vleck.

Riggs said the most recent proposal from the association asked the district for the following: an ongoing 3 percent salary increase for the 2013-14 salary schedule and an increase to steps 24 and 27, which are longevity steps that affect teachers that have been teaching for 24 or 27 years.